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Other ACC Games Week 3

Another week in which the ACC could earn some respect while UNC plays absolute crap.

Never let it be said that the mighty Wufs would risk another L by playing a Somebody the week after playing a Somebody. This week, the Wufs should get to lick their wounds from a tussle with a Bluetick Coonhound. The Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech certainly do not have that fight in them; they were picked 7th of 10 teams in the very weak CUSA.

FSU hosts Memphis. Not only did Norvell leave Memphis for FSU, but while FSU is 0-2, Memphis is being talked about as having a shot to make the playoffs. If the Tigers get this road win, Novell's seat gets hot, the ACC takes another blow to its football credibility, and Memphis HC Ryan Silverfield becomes an even hotter prospect for Major Conference ADs to begin vetting seriously.

The sad shape of the ACC is perhaps best seen this week as BC heads to Columbia - not the armpit of the south Atlantic in SC but the fairly nice town in the middle of Missouri. The Missouri Tigers are ranked #6, their SEC status showing all over. BC, having stomped on FSU, is ranked #24. Even if that game draws 3 million viewers, all credit will go to the SEC, with ESPN leading that charge. The ACC sure could use a Doug Flutie type miracle game in that one.

Pitt hosts WVU in the Backyard Brawl. The stakes in that are always big for the schools and their fans and HCs. The ACC needs to win every game against the Big 12 as it seems the media is determined to rank the BIG 12 as the 3rd best football conference just it the media has been claiming that Big 12 basketball may be the best in the country.

Miami hosts Ball ST. AS Miami is the only ACC team ranked in the Top 20, the league needs the Cnes to win by at least 40.

UConn visits Dook, which just beat Northwestern. UConn is nit yet in the Big 12 but if the Huskies win, ESPN will have its mouthpieces talking about how even UConn makes Big 12 football better.

VT goes to Old Dominion, which is VT's Recruit the Tidewater reminder game. VT has already embarrassed itself and the ACC once this year. We definitely do not need another.

#5 Ole Miss visits Wake Forest. I swear that I saw a post earlier today by an Ole Miss fan saying that this Road game would test Ole Miss. The guy has shown in the past that he has better sense about the quality of ACC football than do the vast majority of SEC fans, but I still was surprised. Maybe he does not know that Wake fell flat last year and has lost to UVA this year. As with Bc vs. Mezzo, a Wake win would be huge for the ACC's chances to get 2 teams into the playoffs.

Maryland at UVA. Former ACC border state rivalry. ACC needs this one against a BT school as it is far more likely than wins over Ole Miss and Missouri.

San Diego St vs. Cal. The Bears got a huge Road win at Auburn last week ands promptly used its Twitter to have fun with the SEC by proclaiming the Cal victory Just Means More. Gotta like anybody who will poke at SEC and/or BT. The Aztecs love being a thorn in the side of Pac teams, but will that still hold as Cal is in the ACC and the Pac is dead?
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ACC games this weekend (picks)

Give us your picks as well:

Memphis @ FSU, Noon, ESPN: Huge game for the Noles, obviously, but the Tigers are supposed to be good, and have won their first two games comfortably. If FSU starts slow, how tight will this team be? I think Norvell’s club gets a W.

Louisiana Tech @ NC State, Noon, ACCN: The Pack hasn’t played well yet. In fact, losing in the fourth quarter to an FCS team and getting steamrolled on a neutral field is a sobering start for a team that had high expectations. Now, it just needs to get a win and do so while playing well. It will, but this may be a so-so win.

Boston College @ Missouri, 12:45, SEC Network: Huge game for the ACC if BC can get a win or at least take this thing to the final few minutes. I’d love to see BC take this game, but it won’t. Mizzou is legit good.

Ball State @ Miami, 3:30, ACCN: Sensing the Canes will be flat and will take some time before pulling away. But never sell MAC teams short, as Notre Dame found out last weekend.

VMI @ Georgia Tech, 3:30, ACCNX: Jackets get a breather with the FCS Keydets in town.

West Virginia @ Pitt, 3:30, ESPN2: Another tough nonconference game for Narduzzi’s group. They barely escaped Cincinnati last weekend, and another nail biter is likely. Panthers in a close one.

UConn @ Duke, 6:00, ACCNX: The Blue Devils need to show some spunk offensively and this game offers that opportunity. At the very least, the defense will carry them again, and this should be fairly decisive.

Virginia Tech @ Old Dominion, 6:00, ESPN+: The Hokies return to Norfolk, where they suffered an embarrassing loss a few years ago. Considering how they’ve played, any win here is a good win. VT in a close one.

Ole Miss @ Wake Forest, 6:30, The CW: Great opportunity for Dave Clawson’s program to retake what has been lost the last couple of years. But the Deacs won’t be able to stop the Rebels’ offense. Ole Miss by at least two TDs.

Maryland @ Virginia, 8:00, ACCN: Very big game for a UVA team that is 2-0 and has a road ACC win in its back pocket. The Terps surprisingly lost at home to Michigan State last weekend, so maybe they aren’t as descent as expected. Going with the Wahoos because they’re at home. Hope there’s a good crowd for this game.

San Diego State @ Cal, 10:30, ESPN: The Bears get some national exposure after the big win at Auburn. The Aztecs didn’t score against Oregon State last weekend, and won’t do too much damage to an opportunistic Cal defense. Bears get the win.

What will the Pac now do?

I thought 6 was all that the NCAA requires to be a fully sanctioned conference, but I saw articles today asserting the number is 8. Maybe 6 is required for some sports (like lacrosse, which is the reason the 5 team ACC does not get an auto bid to the lacrosse playoffs), while 8 is the minimum number a league must have for full status.

That being the case, what does the Pac do? Willis go for just 2 more, or try to become THE top conference located fully in PST and MST? Realistically the Pac cannot get back anybody that left. So that leaves remaining MWC school: UNLV and New Mexico might have the most value, but Nevada-Reno, which is NV's combo state Flagship and Land Grant, might have the power in state politics to prevent UNLV from leaving it behind.

Some think that the Pac may hope tp exapnd as far as the Mississippi River. Specifically by adding long time rivals Memphis and Tulane. If you make that move, you are nuts not to fill the geographic gap with TX schools. Rice (lots of history with Tulane), UTSA, Texas ST, and North Texas all could be had. And that TX foursome would mean the Pac is located in the DFW, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio TV markets.

Not bad for a league that should be dead and buried. Kudos to Oregon St and Washington ST for fighting.

Julius Erving, Tracy McGrady to present Vince Carter with Hall of Fame induction

It's shaping out to be a star-studded and family affair at Vince Carter's Hall of Fame induction in October. The Toronto Raptors legend is set to be inducted into the Hall by presenters and fellow Pantheon members Julius Erving and Tracy McGrady, the Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Thursday. The connection between Carter and McGrady is a storied one. (SportsNet.ca)

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The roster is set, so how do we win the coming season?

As I have shared, I am really concerned for the coming season, I think more than most seem to be. I am not saying we can't win big but I will say I have major concerns, concerns that I have talked about. So what do we need to see for us to win to the standard of UNC basketball?

On offense: First off we need to rip and run, we need to run opposing teams in to the dirt, red hot tempo, pushing everything, no walking the ball up and that requires playing a very deep rotation, I think a rotation of at least 9 if not 10 guys getting regular minutes. The argument against that is that it could challenge continuity and it could frankly. But we have a crap load of very talented depth, especially in our back court. You just DON"T NOT PLAY guys like Seth, Drake, Ian; to waste those guys would almost be criminal. I want to see constant pressure on both ends, turn defense in to offense.

But when we do go into half court on offense, with Bacot no longer there to dominate the paint then we need to make good use out of Jalen's ability to jump shoot, he drags big man defenders outside of the paint and opens up really wide driving lanes for EC and RJ. Tyson has to hit jump shots, Drake and Jack need to create but not be selfish, no Caleb shooting till ya get hot, shot selection is vital. Mix in some small ball as well as a defensive orientated look, we have the guys for that. RJ and Tyson I think will be knock down 3pt shooters, Jack and Drake, as well as Seth more mid-range drivers with length, very different looks that keep defenses off balance. Force opponents to go to their bench to counter our different looks and pace, force them to change rather than we needing to change.

Defense: Glaring concern is the 5 spot, can Jalen BOTH improve as well as hold up to big minutes? Someone has to step up behind him, be it Lubin, High, Claude, JWit, who will it be, hard call. We may have to go smaller at the 5 than we want, we will have to go smaller over all (2 smallish starting guards and shorter reserves for the 5). This is an area that pumping up the tempo is critical, speed and quickness can neutralize most size disadvantages, we have to attack defensively. Don't let opposing guards walk the ball up against us, switch token to hard press, to trapping full court pressure. Rotating in fresh legs (do you get my theme here with deep bench use) mentally and physically wear down the opposing teams starters, force them into bad shots as the clocks ticks down. While we are small at the starting 1 & 2 as well as reserves for the 5 when Jalen sits, we have really good length as well as defensive mind sets off the bench at the 2 and 3 and Tyson as a starter is a size advantage for us in most games.

What do YOU think?

Report identifies six possible sites for future Smith Center

The Dean E. Smith Center, UNC basketball’s home arena, is almost 40 years old. So what does the future hold for the venue? In a recent report, the University of North Carolina identified six possible options to consider in its quest to renovate or replace the Smith Center, which opened in 1986. Each of the possibilities calls for a 16,000-seat arena. (Fayetteville Observer)
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